Woman Sentenced to 86 Months for Methamphetamine Drug Conspiracy

NEW BERN – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced KRISTEN RENE LITTLE, 24, of Angier, North Carolina to 86 months imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

The prosecution of LITTLE was a part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation (OCDETF), which has focused on methamphetamine manufacturers and distributors in Wilson and Wayne counties.

LITTLE was named in a seven-count Indictment filed on February 28, 2018 charging her with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with the intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine from March 2013 until June 13, 2015; possession of equipment, chemicals, products and materials with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine; and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.  On July 25, 2018, LITTLE pled guilty to the conspiracy charge.   

According to the investigation, LITTLE was a part of a drug trafficking organization that manufactured and distributed methamphetamine in Wayne County, North Carolina.  LITTLE utilized at least five other people to purchase pseudoephedrine on her behalf.  Pseudoephedrine is one of the main ingredients utilized in the manufacturing of methamphetamine.  On June 13, 2015, officers located LITTLE in Vinton, Louisiana with syringes in the vehicle as well as a bottle in the process of manufacturing methamphetamine.  LITTLE’s manufacturing of methamphetamine created a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment.

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and Vinton Police Department, Vinton, Louisiana.  Assistant United States Attorney Dena King represented the government.